your strength makes me strong
by stonewall shinobi
Summary: Hyuuga. Aburame. Both clans are strong, and the oldest of Konoha. When the two collide in the making of team eight, how will stony Shino fare working with timid Hinata, and bold Kiba? ShinoxHinata, more details inside.
1. why did it have to be them?

She always _did _think he was kind of creepy.

The tall Shinobi in the white outfit had just had his name called. What number were they on? Eight. Team eight. A quiet kunoichi sat in the corner, hands folded, praying not to be on the same team as one Aburame Shino. She had been dissapointed enough for one day; she was hoping to be placed with Naruto. This was impossible, since the orange-clad shinobi was placed with Sasuke and Sakura. Hinata had no grudge toward them, but could not help feeling bitter: she had, afterall, just wanted Naruto with her. Was that so much to ask?

"As I was saying, the members of team eight will be: Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka, and Hinata Hyuuga."

Hinata sighed and put her head down on to the long table in front of her. Was the whole world out to get her? Hinata had too much on her mind to worry about her teammates. Her cousin, Neji, had already been a genin for a year, and was constantly glaring at her, as though wishing looks could kill. Hinata did not blame him, he had every right to be mad. But now the girl would be going on missions soon, and had to deal with the fear of whatever may come, along with her looming, superior cousin. It simply didn't help to have Kiba, who couldn't seem to keep his mouth shut, and who was so fascinated by his dog, and Shino, an absolute mystery, on her team to assist her with whatever came. She had trouble simply being in the same room as Naruto; how could she deal with all of this?

"Hinata? Hinata, please step forward!" Iruka-sensei called to the distracted kunoichi.

_Oh, that's right, we're supposed to join our teammates._ "Right. C-coming." Hinata got up, and slowly made her way towards the front of her class, to await orders after the rest of the genin had been assigned teams. She felt her cheeks redden as she passed a certain knuckleheaded ninja, and she wished she had better control of herself.

The orders were given, and the teams were to meet at given places the next day. The kunoichi made her way home and dropped onto a the small bed she had had since her days before the academy. She sighed, and screamed into her pillow. She had trouble speaking to others, but when she was alone, it was easier to let out her emotions. She paced about her room, muttering to herself. What would she do? What _could _she do? She was just a scared little genin, fresh out of the academy, wishing for a friend. Hinata did this for what seemed like hours. She was used to it, as she spent most of her time alone in her room. Hinata much preferred to read, or to write, occasionaly, than to go out and train with others. Hinata had no desire to become a ninja. She had no choice. The constant pressure that was on her was incredible. Her cousin, ever looming, wishing for her death - or worse - her father, constantly pressuring her to become strong, even her younger sister Hanabi, taunting her that soon even she would surpass the fresh genin. Hinata was the heir to the Hyuuga clan, but didn't want any of it. Her only solace came from the old typewriter she had. It was a gift from a distant family member, from when she was very young. She had only just began to write at the time, but apparently someone thought it would sharpen her mind. Her father thought this unnecessary: why spend the day writing, typing, when you could be training, and making yourself strong? Hinata didn't listen, she kept the typewriter, despite her father's orders, and she wrote, occasionaly. She wrote everything. Her wildest dreams were put to paper on that machine. Great romances, in which the love of her beloved Naruto is finally found, stories of incredible adventure, in which Hinata finds herself alone, and bravely takes out countless shinobi, easily finishing missions, and bringing honor to her clan. With that typewriter, she could do anything she wanted. With that typewriter, she was home.

Eagerly, she took it out from under her small, aging bed, and began to type.

"Playing with your toys again, Hinata? Such a disgrace," Hinata gasped, and jumped. searching frantically for the source of the voice. It came from her cousin, Neji Hyuuga, standing in the doorway with a sweat-covered brow. There was a large bottle of water in his hand, half-empty: apparently he had gotten back from training particularly hard. "You know, I thought you'd be out training desperately, considering what will happen..."

"C-considering... What do you mean?" Hinata's voice was even softer than usual. Even the sight of her cousin scared her, let alone him being so close, speaking to her.

"It happens year after year and you honestly don't know? Oh well, I'll be glad when you're gone." Neji took a drink of his water and began to leave.

"Wait, Neji! What happens?"

The long-haired kunoichi sighed and sat on her bed. "You honestly don't know? The genin exam isn't what makes you a genin. Come tomorrow, the Jounins get to have their way with you."

"W-what? What d-do you mean?"

"The first test is only to weed out the hopeless, Hinata. The real thing is much worse. Didn't you know? Oh, and I should probably let you know: every year, for the past six years, almost half of all the potential genin have been seriously injured. Some have even died." Neji smirked and began to walk out of her room. "I'll be glad when you're gone, Hinata. Then finally your father may see fit to lift this curse from me."

"N-neji, wait-" But it was no use. The long-haired shinobi was gone, leaving Hinata with her thoughts.

Hinata knew her cousin was lying, but couldn't help but fear the upcoming day: even if they weren't to be put to the test again, missions would be given out on their first day of being real shinobi. Either way Hinata saw it, she was screwed. _I've got to train_. The though went through her head like wildfire, and she fled, as quick as she could, for the training grounds.

The training ground team eight was assigned was simple: a large hill with fertile soil, and bright green grass. There were patches of taller foliage, here and there, and just shy of the center of the hill, an enormous tree loomed. The tree was a weeping willow, vines reaching out as though to grab her, casting shadows in the lowering sun, giving an ominous feeling to the landscape. The tree was intimidating to Hinata, yet calming and encouraging at the same time. Erected at the base of the tree outwards, countless training dummies stood, expressionless. Sounds emerged from behind the tree, sounds of impact - somone had beaten her there, and was making the most of the training dummies.


	2. he's so strong! I have to catch up!

Hinata, not wanting to intrude, activated her Byakugan, and observed the shinobi training. It was none other than her new teammate, Shino Aburame, and, observing his taijutsu, the timid kunoichi was very impressed. Shino attacked the dummies the same way a fly sped through the air. He was everywhere at once, his hands moving almost too quickly for even Hinata's Byakugan to see. striking one dummy, he spun to the side, striking another, whilst stopping the first from moving with his foot. Shino continued spinning, striking dummy after dummy, and not a single one moved, no matter how hard he hit them. He continued attacking without any particular pattern. A fifth dummy appeared from nowhere, and Shino continued attacking, still not an inch of motion from the dummies. The attack continued, until abruptly, the shinobi stopped. He straightened himself, and looked to the right. "You can come out, Hinata. You wanted to train, didn't you?"

"Uh, yes." Hinata moved around a dummy to look at Shino directly. He was soaked with sweat: apparently he had been at this for a while. She raised her hands in front of her chest, and pressed the tips of her index fingers together. "I... I didn't mean to interrupt you, Shino. Please, continue."

Shino stood in stony silence for a moment. He stepped out from the circle of dummies, and the fifth disintegrated to the ground in a writhing black mass. "I would rather see you try." He stepped back further, staring at Hinata, seemingly without emotion. Hinata felt uncomfortable with Shino standing there, staring like a painting of a creepy clown. He was completely motionless, just staring at Hinata.

The timid kunoichi gathered her courage, and gave it a try. She let out a cry, as she initiated her first attack, which landed on the shoulder of a dummy, it moved almost a half an inch before Hinata hit the other side. She meant to stop it from moving, but the power behind the second attack was too great, and it spun rapidly into Hinata's back.

Shino, without a sound, stepped back into the ring of training dummies. Hinata took her cue to step back and watch. His first attack was the same as Hinata's, a diagonal chop to the meat of the shoulder, sending the dummy spinning slowly. Shino allowed his chop to slide down the dumies body, lifting himself up on the same hand he had hit it with in less than a second. Stopping the dummy from moving hardly anywhere with his foot, he lowered himself by straightening his wrist, kicking another dummy in the arm, which he promptly blocked with his own arm as it fell. Once he was back on his feet, he spun on his heels, attacking three of them low to the ground, which would have sent their feet spinning, had his twirl not ended up in a cartwheel, alowing them to stop their spinning before it started with two arms, which were planted on the ground, and a leg. Shino followed this up by launching himself from the ground by a few inches, hitting all four dummies in a spinning kick, placing perfect shots on all four to stop their movement instantly, though seperately. "They test the mind, not the body."

"What?" Hinata was still awed at Shino's performance. That was all she could say at the time.

"As you attack your target, you need to think about your next move. Use the dummies the same way. Thinking about how to counter their motions you trigger will help you predict and counter your opponent's."

"O-oh." Hinata watched as the shinobi sat down and allowed himself to rest a moment. judging by the sweat that covered his body, and his perfection in using those dummies, he must have been training with them for hours. Hinata tried again with the dummies, this time moving more slowly, to allow herself time to think. She let the dummies move much more than she should have, but slowly, she was picking up speed. Soon she would be able to exceed at them.

Shino watched the young kunoichi for an hour, with interest. She had to have been struck by the dummies at least twenty times in the time he watched her, but she kept trying. It didn't show through his covered face, but he was impressed with his teammate. She was learning quickly. Shino knew nothing of his two teammates before they had been set up together, and now they had to work together flawlessly. Shino observed Hinata further, and was further impressed as she took her jacket off, though for different reasons. The coat Hinata wore was so large and well-stuffed, he had no ideas she had such pleasing curves. Admittedly, the kunoichi's movements, never-wavering determination, and beautiful bosdy aroused him, but Shino knew better than to do anything. It mattered not that there teammate was good looking, only that she was strong. allowing himself to be distracted would only hinder them. Therefore, he continued to watch, and study her fighting style, rather than her body.

The last hours of the day were spent with an exhausted Shino and Hinata laying on the ground, trying desperately to allow their breaths to catch up with them. They had been training for almost six hours at that point, first on the dummies, then on each other, getting a feel for their teammate's strengths and weaknesses, their styles and techniques. Both of them were to tired to move come sunset, and Shino walked Hinata home at dark. Hinata, at first, wondered why Shino would do this, if maybe he had some alterior motive, but the white0clad ninja was silent the whole way. Despite getting to know him to day, he was still a complete... mystery.


	3. Kurenai sensei, a genjutsu spectacular!

OK, before I start, I wanna apolagize for the amount of typos in hte last chapter. I'll get that fixed very soon. Also, my chapters have been ending kind of abruptly, so yeah.

Last but not least, I need to disclaim stuff... I own nothing in regards to Naruto, except my naruto dvds, and my snappy headbands, wristguards, and those cool glove thingies.

without further ado, on with the story!

Hinata awoke late the next morning, still drained from training so hard. It was almost noon, she realized, glancing at the clock on the wall of her room. She showered quickly, dressing so hastily she almost put her coat on backwards. Strapping the kunai pouch around her pants leg as she did every morning, she left for the training grounds.

The trek to the training grounds was not a long one for Hinata, and she was there quickly. She was surprised to find Shino there already, training as he was yesterday. It sujrprised her not because she didn't think he'd be here, but because the Aburame compound is so far from the training grounds. Kiba was thwere as well, standing in a battle-ready pose, in front of a small puppy. Hinata thought it was kind of funny the way they were staring each other down. Afterall, what could a little puppy do to big, wild ki-

"Beast mimicry!" Kiba got down on all fours and Hinata was amazed as his fangs sharpened, his claws got longer. he charged towards the puppy, and a canine, who had suddenly turned blood red, was ravaging towards the boy. Fang met claw, and the two turned each other around. Once they hit, they didn't slow down at all in turning again, and preparing to charge.

Hinata took to the other side of the willow tree, in a seperate pile of dummies. She activated her Byakugan, and began to attack the dummies rapidly, not wanting to lose to her teammates. It took a while to get herself into it, as she didn't get enough sleep the previous night, and ran all the way to the training ground, but once she did, she was attacking rapidly. No dummy moved for than two inches the way she was attacking, and that was a personal best for her. Glancing around the tree with ehr Byakigan, however, she noticed Shino's dummies still were hardly moving at all. He wasn't even out of breath, whereas she struggled to maintain hers already, and he had been there training longer.

Hinata was quiet, and unnoticable at first to her team mates. It wasn't until they heard the sounds of impact from the other side of the tree did they realize she was there. Kiba and Akamaru stopped fghting almost immediately, and walked straight up to the circle of dummies where Hinata was training. "Hey, Hinata!" Kiba smiled and waved from only a foot or so away. Hinata had known Kiba was there, thankls to her Byakugan. She had even known he was watching, but she hadn't expected him to call out to her like that. She was nervous enough just having his team mate watch her, let alone talk to her while she traing. She cried out as a dummy spun around on the bottom side, and tripped her. She fell onto the back of her head, and lie there blushing. Her Byakugan deactivated, and she glanced to her left, where Kiba stood, worriede, and then to her right, where Shino stood, seemingly emotionless.

"Oh, Hinata, good! I was worried you were hurt for a second there. Whats the big idea, falling like that?" In truth, it was Kiba's startling her that had made her fall, but she didn't want to upset the rash genin.

"Oh, s-sorry, Kiba. I... I didn't mean to worry you." Kiba held out a hand and helped Hinata up. Shino, noting that she was okay, walked to the other side of the tree, continuing his training as though nothing had happened.

Hinata watched him go. It kind of bothered her to watch him be so casual about it. Sure, she wasn't hurt or anything, but he could have shown some kind of concern! Still, Hinata was timid, and kind of... afraid... of her stony team mate, so she simply stood and took a fighting stance, prepared to continue training.

Kurenai hid in the center of the willow tree, watching things develop with interest. She wanted to know her team's dynamics before going down to test them. It seemed she was going to have it rough with her first team as a jounin teacher. Kiba was rash and tough, and the way his dog fought like a demon, and even influenced Kiba's style, was unlike anything she had seen. Hinata was a Hyuuga, and therefore had the physical traits of her bloodline, but mentally, she was nothing like the hard, cold Hyuugas. Shino, on the other hand, was a mystery to everyone. He was simply quiet, but Kurenai could tell from the way he used the dummies that he was intelligent, and quick on his feet. Aburame, though... that name bothered... She couldn't remember just what, but she recalled at one point as a genin being warned about the Aburame. She wasn't sure what exactly would happen with this team, but it seemed it was time for her to greet them. A few hand signs were used, manipulating chakra, and the jutsu was complete.

"Team eight of Konohagakure, Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuuga, and Kiba Inuzuka, step forward and meet your sensei!" The voice came from nowhere and everywhere at once, as the three shinobi (four, if you count Akamaru) stood in a single file line, all facing forwards, as their sensei appeared before them.

Leaves from nowhere danced before their eyes, casting shadows s they rose and fell with the wind. They grew, and stretched, shrunk and scatterred, and came to each other, as though magnetized. They grew closer to each other, forming a tight-knit ball, compressing and squeesing each other, until the ballon of leaves could stand no more. The leaves faded to nothing, as a thick mist bursted forth from inside. it covered the entire hill, at first, before thinning, and grouping to three spots, one each in front of the shinobi, swirling and dancing, slowly becoming corporeal. The three of them eventually had a humanoid figure, and joined as one to complete the jutsu. Kurenai Yuuhi stood before them, their sensei, the latest jounin of Konohagakure. She smiled. All three were now caught in her Genjutsu. It was now time for the test.

Hinata stood in awe of the dancing leaves, and humanoid mist. It was beautiful, but horrifying at the same time. And when the three bodies of fog joined together they formed an all too beautiful woman, whom Hinata thought was far too gorgeous too be part of something so grizzly as the shinobi profession. She was tall, with bright, shining red eyes. Her body looked as though it was bandaged in the style of an outfit, but that was simply what her clothing would make you believe. On her right arm, a red sleeve extended from shoulder to wrist, but the left arm was bare. Her hair, cut just below the shoulders, was a very dark blue, almost black. If it had to be assigned a color, it would be obsidian, which hardly does it justice. Her shoes were like combat boots and sandals croosed, in a dark blue color which matched her hair.

"My name is Kurenai Yuuhi, of the Yuuhi clan, and I will be your instructor for as long as I see fit. I will protect you if I can, but weakness isn't going to be accepted. Understood?"

Shino nodded his head, as Hinata stammered a faint "Y-yes." Kiba raised an arm in the air and shouted with delight, and Akamaru yelped loudly, as though doing it with him.

"Good. We've got missions to do, so let's get right down to bussiness, shall we?"

OK, that marks the end of this chapter! ok, I know that there is supposed to be an introduction thing, but don't worry, that will come. Kurenai is a new Jounin, see, and the waqy I see it, she doesn't want to let people think she wastes time. She figures if this group doesn't make the cut, she can skip the introductions, and just move on with record speed, hopefully impressing some people higher up. Get it? Admittedly, Kurenai's a little OOC, but in my defense, she's not really on the show enough to get a good grasp of her character. I'm doing th ebest I can. anyhoo, review if you want more, and a little tip: putting my story on story alert will let me know just how eager you are to see it, and you'll know as soon as chapters come up. Enjoy!


	4. this is ourmission? Kurenais great plan!

Yay, another new chapter! Break out the happy snacks! (I is totally sugar-rushed right now, forgive me for craziness, but the Pagan side of Easter sunday is AWESOME!) OK, I want to reply to a few reviews before continuing:

.o. - what's with the wierd name? anywho, Shino is, at the moment, unaware Genjutsu has befallen him. He will be in for a surprise to find out the bugs aren't following his orders...

sasukehinatalover - well, alright, I'll write like you said, but if it's too troublesome (Yay Shikamaru!), I'm going back to the old way, and you'll have to deal with it:-p Also, I'd like to point out that this will be a ShinoxHinata fic, but for a long while, they will keep their emotions hidden. For Hinata, it will be simply because she's, well, Hinata, but Shino will not want to compromise missions. As long as they are teammates, in this fic anyway, Shino will not want to make a move. Don't worry, it will happen, but not for a while, and only after many cute scenes of sugary goodness! (Don't worry, Shino will be in character through it all).

Thanx to all the other people who reviewed, or put this story on alert! Remember, the more positive feedback this gets, the sooner I'll put up another chapter!

OK, I know you're getting tired of waiting, but before I get on with the chapter, I have to say this: If you like this story, try reading my other Naruto fic! It's not as... nice... and I wasn't as good a writer as I am now when I started it, but I thyink you guys will like it! Scouts honor! (yeah, like I'm a scout...)

Ok, on with the chapter! (bout time)

"Alright, We've got missions to finish and business to take care of, so let's just get to it then!" Kurenai didn't like to talk like this to her pupils, but she thought it might help to get a fire in them for the test. Kurenai was pretty sure her test was brilliant - afterall, it covered pretty much every aspect of being a shinobi, without putting their lives in danger.

"Our first mission, lucky for you guys, is one that will let us stay here in the village. Apparently, a couple shinobi from the hidden Stone village have infiltrated as Konoha ninja. There are three of them: two chunin and a jounin. These are their profiles, and all the information we know about them," Kurenai handed each of them three cards, giving detailed information about each two of the three members. "There is Katsuo Horoyoshi, Miname Kimoto, and Ryoma Hanabi. They specialize in a strange beffudlement jutsu, which makes the opponent very easy to confuse and outwit. We are not sure how it is performed, or what, if any the weaknesses of the jutsu are. It's our job to bring them back to Lord Hokage alive for questioning. Any questions?"

Shino considered this in his head for a moment. The mission should be simple enough for him. His insects weren't likely to be trapped by a jutsu intended to confuse, and he was always a strong thinker anyway. What bothered him, however, was the fact that they were set to such a difficult mission at the very start. Two Chunin, and a Jounin? It didn't seem like Lord Hokage would give rookies that simple a mission. Was Kurenai really that strong, or was this some sort of trick? Shino stood and lowered his head, indicating there were no questions from him.

"Um, I... I have one," Hinata raised her hand, which Shino noticed was shaking slightly. Kurenai nodded her head in Hinata's direction, asking her to speak quickly. "Um, it- It seems that this is a pretty hard mission for new genin, isn't it? Why, I mean, can't we start with something a little easier?"

"Oh, come one, Hinata, it'll be fun!" Kiba was standing already, his face red. Akamaru was leaping around at Kiba's heels, yelping excitedly. They, Shino thought, were obvioously excited to prove themselves. "Besides, when has the Stone Village ever beaten the leaf village? Never, that's when! Kurenai-Sensei, when do we start?"

Shino put a small, invisible smile on from behind the collar of his shirt. Whether this was a trick or not, it certainly would be entertaining working with this team.

"First, I have to answer Hinata's quiestion," Kurenai smiled at the timid kunoichi. She thought that Hinata was the only one to figure out that there was something more to this. She thought something like this might happen, and decided to quell her fears quickly. "Don't worry, Hinata, the mission should be a lot easier than you would think. If they want to stay hidden, they'll have to keep quiet, won't they? They can't exactly fight konoha shinobi in the middle of village streets, now can they?"

Executed brilliantly! Kurenai smiled, directing the good gesture towards Hinata, but secretly patting herself on the back.

"We will want to start in the more social spots of Konoha. The only reason a ninja will take a spying mission is to get information, and one of the best ways to do that will be by meeting with other Konoha citizens. We start-"

"It should also be said," Shino let out in a sudden outburst, "that these ninja, as spies, will probably be using the transformation jutsu to blend in, and therefore the pictures on the profile cards will probably not be very helpful."

Kurenai looked thoughtfully at the shinobi in white. His observation was correct, of course: Kurenai had made sure to disguise her creations well, but she hadn't expected it to come so quickly from a fresh genin! noting that there was much more to him than met the eye, she continued.

"That's right. Let's not forget that, as spies, they could be anybody. Now then, we start in four spereate places. Kiba, I want you to head down to the business district of Konoha. They may be trying to get ties with higher-ups in the village."

"Right!" Kiba got up, and turned. He was anxious to leave, but he knew there would be more orders.

"Shino, I want you to take on the shopping district." Kurenai was pleased to have put him here. As a quiet, unattatched shinobi, he was less likely to be distracted by things found in Konoha malls or shops. Shino also was standing, having taken to his feet as his name was called. He, however, still hadn't broken eye contact with Kurenai. She had no idea of this, because of the sunglasses, but he was trying to figure out what she was up to: splitting the four of them up to fight high-level ninja? Something more was going on here.

"Hinata, I want you to take the food district. Ichiraku's, and the stands you see mostly, but feel free to walk in and have a look around in the buildings if you must."

Hinata stood, and stammerred a quick "right"before turning as well, preparing to leave.

"Keep in mind, everyone, keeping yourselves unnoticable is probably a good idea. It's not like the stone shinobi are stupid enoigh to just head up to the Hokage's mansion and request to see village blueprints, or naythying. They won't do anything if they're uncomfortable about the company they're in. Now then, I'll be keeping a close eye on all three of you, to make sure you're all safe. Keep an eye out for any strange things you happen to see in your areas, and I'll be in the liobrary."

"What? Why would spy ninja need to go to library?" Kiba turned back and looked curiously at Kurenai. She smiles.

"That's obvious, isn't it? If you look at the writing of Konoha citizens, you get a feel of what they're like. By simply reading a book, they can predict the movements of the average Konoha citizen, which makes it easier to counteract. Not to mention the fact that most of the villages records are stored there, so if they have to be gathering information, the konoha library is the first place to go. Report back to me if you see anything suspicious, and either way, we'll be meeting here at sunset. Got it?" The ninja around her gavce brief answers of confirmation, and dissapeared to their assigned areas. Kurenai was pleased with herself. The explanation of the "mission" had gone off without a hitch! And now, each one of them has fallen into a different Genjutsu, which she could modify at any time to test a specific shinobi attribute. She had plans for each of them, based on what she had learned from watching them train, and thought that this should be interesting. All the while, as a bonus, Kurenai got to relax in the library, and watch how her students did. They wouldn't even realize they hadn't moved anywhere, thanks to Kurenai's perfectly executed Genjutsu. So now, all she had to do, was sit back, relax, and watch.

How'd you like that one? I wanted to go into the actual test in this chapter, but The explanation of the "mission" ran too long, so I couldn't. Either way, now you know how our favorite shinobi will be tested, but how can they ever pass? Genjutsu doesn't affect Kiba's nose, or Shino's bugs, which will make it hard to complete their mission. Will they figure it out? or will they find a way to pass the test anyway? Review for the next chapter, it's the only way to find out! .


	5. spies detected! stone beware!

Kurenai laid back calmly in a rocking chair in the library, with her eyes closed. Despite the fact that she couldn't see in front of her, she had a triple view. The false shinobi were placed in seperate areas throughout the village. It should be simple enough to figure out they were in the Genjutsu, and that was the test. Not just coming out of ther Genjutsu, but forcing Kurenai to fess up to it. This way, in addition to typical jutsu in the beggining, Kurenai could test the intuitiveness of her students, and even their interrogation skills. As long as she was in their minds, she could even throw them a few curve balls.

Hinata scoured the food district of the village, checking in each shop, but not realy knowing what to look for. Activating Byakugan, Hinata checked around. Nearby stores, crowded or empty. Some with just one or two customers. Ichiraku's, Naruto sat, slurping ramen with Iruka, in a nearby eel stand, a man was convincing a small girl that his eels would "fill her right up" At Ichiraku's, Naruto sat slurping Ramen... Hinata felt her face redden, looking at the blonde shinobi. That's right, he was a ninja now. That headband looked so good on him. And the way he was smiling when he passed her in the village. It seems he drew those smiles from his headband. . . .

Forgetting Naruto for the moment, Hinata focused her attention back on the mission. Next to Naruto and Iruka, a single unidentified man sat. He was eating, and chatting up Iruka, since Naruto was so busy with his ramen. In an alley, two shady figures conducted a strange exchange, in the street, three teenage boys with forehead protectors showing them to be foreigners from the sand village looked around. Hinata considered them. If they were spies, forehead protectors from the sand village could serve to divert attention away from the Stone. But it seemed like a simple idea to her. Besides, if they were spies, they were lousy ones, given how easily noticed they were. Besides, the ninja she was after were supposed to be Chunin and higher. Certainly not teenagers like them. She considered the man in the ramen shop, but Iruka was laughing and having a good time with the man. Surely an enemy wouldn't make him laugh?

Her three sixty vision came back to the two men in an alley. again, they seemed pretty shady, but also they were out in the open. It seemed to Hinata her best bet was to follow those two. Passing the ramen shop, she made her way to the alley, with Byakugan active, until she heard Iruka say, as though he were drunk "yeah, the village's defense is really lacking on the east side, ya know? I mean, you could just-"

"More ramen, please!" Naruto was completely oblivious to what was happening. As absorbed as he was in his ramen, he had no idea who the man talking to Iruka was: In fact, Hinata doubted he knew what Iruka had even said just now. He's so cute when he's inattentive.

Shino

The business district was always bustling, and there were always so many people. However, Shino had more bugs, and he did his job quickly simply by planting an insect on everyone in the area. Anyone who could avoid his bugs was probably a high-level shinobi of suspicion, and as for those who did, Shino would be notified of any shady activity. He sat in front of a fountain in the mall: water was always soothing to the bug tamer. He pulled a lady bug from the pool of water in the bottom of the fountain and put it onto a concrete floor, and wondered how his teammates were doing.

Before he could continue observing the bug, and before his thoughts of his teammates went too far, a short, bugless ninja with a konoha headband passesd Shino. The man would have been unnoticable were it not for the insect's complete silence when he passed. Ordinarily, because he had told his bugs to plant themselves onto everyone, they would either be buzzing to occupy him or buzzing to get to the companion on him. As he passed, however, they set completely still.

"Silence". Shino could handle the feel of the bugs inside of him, but the buzzing got irritating sometimes. He stood, and started tailing the mysterious newcomer.

Kiba

Kiba remembered why he seldom found himself wandering the business district. It was so _boring. _It was all just guys in suits, handling the affairs of the village. No skilled ninja in sight (with the exception of the guards, of course)! There was the Hokage's mansion, of course, but even that was usually all paperwork. He didn't know what he was supposed to accomplish here, anyway: He was only a ninja and a dog, its not like he could keep an eye on every safe and file in the business district. Kiba did what he could, of course: Akamaru had set his skillful nose to detecting any foreign scents. Even that was unlikely to help. Even if Akamaru picked something up out of the ordinary, it could simply be someone from a surrounding town to enlist shinobi assistance. Kiba supposed, however, the best place to go was the hokage mansion. It was not excatly safe trying to hide and keep an eye on the third hokage, but he figured the ninja were most likely to go there. If their confusion jutsu was that strong, it wouldn't be too hard to get just about anything out of anyone, right? so why not go straight to the hokage's? His idea to prevent himself from being confused seemed simple enoughLtake a soldier pill, and focus the extra chakra as a kind of armor around his head. Not that his head wasn't thick enough already, but noone would be confusing him that easily. Not while the soldier pill lasted to provide chakra armor. His skills in focusing weren't exactly flawless,but he had developed enough to think he could focus a thin layer at least. Using Transformation himself, Kiba bcame a fl. Akamaru sniffed a moment, confused. Popping back, Kiba was proud. "That should do. Stay, Akamaru, and let me know if anyone enters. you know how." Akamaru yelped loudly, and spun in a quick circle. Kiba knew he understood. Akamaru was a smart dog. "Transform! and Kiba was off, unaware that he himself was being followed.

Hinata

Reactivating her Byakugan, Hinata studied the man who was taking to Iruka. It seemed natural that a chunin wouldn't go shouting about his native village's weaknesses, even if he was drunk. Hinata saw all she needed with her perfect vision. The man's eyes were constantly gliding from one side to the next, scouring for anyone who might overhear Iruka's powerful outburst. He paused for just a moment when he saw Hinata. The Leaf headband was an obvious forgery: the symbol was pointing the wrong way!

Hinata remembered what Neji had told her the previous day, which prevented her from working at her typewriter the whole day. It could be that this was a test. It would explain a lot, but Hinata couldn't help but think that that obvous sign made him too obvious to be real. Kurenai-sensei wouldn't make it that easy, would she? Well, she didn't recognize this man, either way, and the signs told her this was a spy. Even if this wasn't the one the mission was talking about, she had to get Iruka away from him, and this man to fight her in the open. She wasn't eager to fight anyone in her current state, being a green genin, but the way she saw it, all she had to do was stay alive for a few seconds before other ninja apprehended the spy. There was one way to find out for sure. walking up to the Sand ninja, who stopped at the eel stand, she said loud enough for the other to hear, "Katsuo Horoyoshi, Miname Kimoto, Ryoma Hanabi." With Byakugan activated, she dodged the frightened attack of one of the sand nin, who obviously mistook her for some sort of lunatic. With her Kekegenkai, she kept an eye on her suspect, and noted that he had stopped to glare at her. The way his hand was moving... a weapon!

The kunai punctured her stomache before she had known what hit her. Miname Kimoto smiled. Hopefully noone would have seen where that had come from. He watched as the girl fell, hitting the ground like a log... notlike one, as one! Substitution! Damn, where was -

"Don't m-m-move." Hinata bravely stood behind her quarry, kunai held at the opponent's throat. Well not too bravely. Hinata recognized that she wasn't in any danger. As the log took the kunai for her, she used yet another replacement technique. This time, what looked like her was a simple bar stool from, Ichiraku's, and she was standing in the middle of the street, hiding in the guise of a fly.

"Well well, you caught me." Miname was impressed with the girl. He guessed her to be at chunin level. and so young! She must be some kind of genius. "I warn you kid, I'm a chunin. I wouldn't go flaunting that kunai around like it's over. To start with..."

Miname acted so fast, it challenged the speed of the Byakugan! The guise he wore looked so old. A short gray beard was all the hair on a bald head. Hinata didn't stop to think he may have been tougher than his appearance. a foolish mistake. Snapping his face down quickly, he bit down on the kunai and the hand Hinata held it with, and used his neck and jaw muscles alone to flip her over his shoulders. There was no more being discreet, but at least he would take this girl down, and maybe he could create enough of a diversion to get away before being caught by any leaf ninja.

Hinata smiled as much as an ant could smile, before popping back into her own guise. People were staring now, and the Hinata he had thrown became the bar stool it was. "N-n-n-no more hiding. Spy! Spy from the Stone! Someone help!" Hinata recognized she couldn't keep this up. Two substitutions and the use of her Byakugan had greatly chewed at her chakra. Hinata prepared herself for the worst as Minama charged. The kunai was ready, there was noone coming to help her... why was noone going to help her?


	6. Test complete and the result is

Kiba, as the fly, scoured the Hokage's office impatiently. _C'mon! Doesnt anyone ever do anything exciting around here?_ The hokage, currently out of the office, left Kiba bored. The few guards left in the office didn't offer much entertainemnt, simply standing around next to each door, talking about what their wives, or life at home. Occasionally Kiba heard bits and pieces from mission stories, but usually it was just small talk. Kiba buzzed around loudly, flying from wall to wall. A leaf ninja Kiba hadn't known before entered the room, and he heard Akamaru's distant barking.

"Hey, the Hokage's not in right now." One of the ninja said to the newcomer. "I don't know what you think you're doing here, but you'll have to come back later, or get a seal of approval from lord Hokage."

"But... I have approval." The ninja showed a slip of paper to the ninjas. They each looked at it and nodded their approval. Kiba glanced at the paper, and noticed the whole thing was blank! What on earth were they doing, letting him in for just a blank piece of paper? The ninja moved around the rom, opening drawers and files, taking scrolls as he please. Why were the guards letting this happpen? Wait a minute... Confusion jutsu... _That's him!_ Kiba buzzed behind the ninja and popped back to his human form, and grappled the stone spy while signaling Akamaru with a dog whistle he kept handy.

The ninja, Katsuo Horoyoshi, as Kiba recognized from the pictures, threw him over his side. He turned to leave, but Kiba had landed well, and Akamaru blocked the way. "Out of my way, little puppy!" Swinging a kick at the dog, Akamaru took a sharp bite of the ninja's ankle, As Kiba ran and jumped on his back!

Katsuo let out a short gasp of pain, and kicked hard, throwing Akamaru off him. Kiba had his own fangs buried into the ninja's neck. The warm blood entered his mouth, and the taste nearly made him gag. He hated the taste and smell of human blood, which is why he didn't dig his fangs in too deeply. Killing this spy was, afterall, out of the question! He needed to be brought in for questioning.

"Dammit, kid, let go of me!" He threw Kiba off with the same motion as the ninja who had Hinata, and Akamaru placed another set of teeth into his calf. "Dammit, this is getting old!" A series of three hand seals united with a cry of "Confusion Jutsu!" Akamaru went crazy,. running towards Kiba. Kiba was able to avoid befuddlement thanks to his soldier pill strategy, but it took a lot more out of him than he thought!

Akamaru jumped at Kiba and snapped, but Kiba dodged to the left, right into punching range of Katsuo! The blow hit hard, and Kiba was knocked back into wall.

"Hey, kid, what do you think you're doing?" The two guards had picked Kiba up! "Fighting a leaf Jonin in lord Hokage's office? Not the brightest move if you ask me."

"Definitely not." The other guard held him as well. "Now, you be a good ninja and get out of this office. And be grateful that we don't report you to the Hokage for this."

"Alright, that does it! I didn't want to damage Hokage's office, but if he's controlling you two... Gatsuuga!" Kiba spun rapidly, using the leftover remaining chakra to cause havoc on the Hokage's office. The jonin he was fighting, and the two guards, however, were much faster than he expected, and were able to dodge the attacks easily.

Katsuo grabbed a stack of files and ran, leaping onto a rooftop to make his escape. "See you later, Genin!"

"I don't think so!" If there was one thing Kiba couldn't stand, it was failing a mission because of this coward. "Gatsuuga!" Kiba began spinning again, with a befuddled Akamaru chasing after. The two jonin guards refused to let the destroyer of lord Hokage's office get away, and they joined in the chase too.

_Well I'm in hot water now! One jonin enemy to fight, with two jonin chasing me to stop me! And through all of this, Akamaru's confused.. I could really use some help here! _"Kurenai-sensei! Where are you? I could really use some HELP here!" Speeding onward, he found his multiple usage of Gatsuuga had drained him. Another soldier pill was taken, and he began to feel his stomache turn from the negative effects as he moved on.

Hinata

The enemy, Miname, advanced quickly, with a weapon at the ready. Why was noone coming to help her? The kunai sashed at her belly, but by some stroke of adrenaline, instinct, and luck, she was able to jump back. Shuriken were thrown at the enemy, and he was unable to dodge them because of his own momentum. They struck him in the shoulder, but it didn't seem to effect him! Hinata was behind him when he finally stopped, and she took advantage to see where his arms were. _O... OK.. He is holding the kunai like that, so he will strike like... This!" _Using her own Kunai, she cried out as she blocked his attack. He launched a kick at her, but the Byakugan caught the movement as it happend, allowing Hinata to dodge it promptly. The kick set the shinobi off balance, and on only one leg for a split second, which Hinata used to full effect by aiming a kick of her own at his kneecap. He dropped down, and Hinata stared in disbelief. _I... I won? N...N... No way!_ Hinata felt an overwhelming rush of pride as the ninja hit the ground. Until, of course, he disappeared into vapor. Ten more were all around her!

"Not bad, kid, but we're only just getting started here! I told you not to over estimate me!"

This didn't make sense... There she was, being attacked by someone who openly admitted he was an enemy to the leaf, surrounded by leaf shinobi, but not a single person moved to help her, or even tried to watch! Had he befuddled that many people? No, impossible. Noone could confuse so many people so easily. If he could, he would have gotten the Hokage to tell him everything. So what was happening, this was beyond belief, couldn't be real! Wait a minute, that's it! The ten Miname rushed Hinata simultaneously, and Hinata smiled as she made her hand seal. "RELEASE!" She focused all of her chakra into it, releasing the genjutsu. Dropping to her knees, exhausted, she realized she was not in town anymore.

Shino

Slowly but surely, his bugs were returning to him. What was happening? Bugs didn't return to him unless the person he had been tracking was dead, so what happened? As soon as someone left his sight, the bug returned without any message whatsoever. Why? Then there was that bugless person. Shino had moved to follow him, but he had suddenly broken into a run. Shino didn't want to disturb the shoppers by giving chase, but he had to keep track of him, and for whatever reason, his bugs were failing. Shino got up and began to run with him. Finally catching up, the man made a triple hand seal and tried to confuse the bug filled shinobi. The jutsu didn't work. Shino swung a punch at his assailaint, Ryoma Hanabi, and the surprised ninja was knocked back. "What... but.. how? My jutsu never fails!"

Slowly small, black dots, began dripping off of shino. No, not just dipping off, melting away, no, even more - crawling away. This ninja was made entirely of bugs!

"I see. That's why you couldn't be confused! Well... I can just use some pesticides!" A smoke bomb hit the ground, which should have enabled a fast escape. The ninja did not count on what happened next. A kunai dug itself into his right shoulderblade. "What?" But how? He shouldn't have known where I was!"

"My female bugs allow the males to find you." Shino was on the second floor of the large shopping center, looking downward at, and giving a faceless smirk to, his opponent. "That first punch, I planted a female on you. But look: I'm not done."

The bugs that Shino's kunai was comprised of melted away, flying off. "What?"

"I see. You made a kunai out of bugs. Once they impaled me because of your throw, they would have attacked me even further. But have a look: Your bugs are confused too." It was true.

Every bug Shino had deployed had refused to attack this ninja, nor stay on anyone the second they left his sight. What was happening? Shino's bugs were unaffected by Genjutsu, and the same should be for befuddlement. Shino took a moment, and realized the situation. His bugs were fooled by neither confusion nor genjutsu. It was he that was being tricked. "... Release!" Shino made his handsign, and found himself standing between Hinata and Kiba, in the same spot as before.

Kiba

Kiba was found, caught by the two beffudled jonin, one of which was holding Akamaru back. Katsuo Was not helping the situation, re-assuring that the two jonin ninja were exceptionally beffudled. _He's not even gonna have to fight me... That does it!_ Kiba took another soldier pill. _It's about time I knocked some sense into these idiots! _Feeling around his kunai pouchm, he took a quick inventory as he replaced his soldier pills. "Thirteen Kunai and thirty shuriken left... should be enough for the distraction I need... Gatsuuga!"

Launching hmself into the air, Kiba spun rapidly, releasing weapons every step of the way. As Kiba anticaipated, the shinobi dodged each one with ease. He got what he wanted, though. of the many things he tossed, a Soldier pill was among them. Because of the large, glinting weapons, not many would notice a small soldier pill. It dropped into Akamarus' mouth just as easily as Kiba had hoped it would; His aim was true. The puppy turned blood red in an instant, and because of the incredible rush of chakra, Katsuo's jutsu couldn't hold up. Akamaru was released. Thew two stood side by side. "Good to have you back, buddy!" Akamaru yelped a happpy agreement, licking Kiba's hand softly. "Now to deal with these clowns!"

"Right," It seemed the jonin had other plans. "We're jonin level and you're just genin. There's no way you can take us."

Kiba looked at Katsuo. Then he smiled. "Yeah, too bad there's only two of you!"

"What are you talking about? There's a third right here. We even have you in numbers."

"Yeah, and what has he done? Besides stealing from the Hokage I mean."

Katsuo, calm and collected, walked up to Kiba. "Stealing from the hokage? I assure you, I have never done so before in my life." Katsuo smirks, holding up the file in plain sight for Kiba and the world to see.

_gggrrr Bastard... I can't take this guy on my own... I was able to resist the buffudlement jutsu by putting a wall of chakra up in my head. Maybe if I send a lot of chakra into these guys, they'll wake up to..._

"Alright, if you two are so confident, come and get me! Gatsuuga!" Kiba purposely slowed down this rotation, and allowed the two to catch him. "Come on, now, this is rediculous."

"No, what's rediculous as that you got caught in his genjutsu! Release!" Kiba launched almost all of the chakra he had left into the jonin's bodies, hoping that would do it. He feel to his knees and closed his eyes in pain. When he opened them, He found himself in the field on his knees. Standing quickly, Kiba looked around. "What, where am I?"

"Relax," Shino spoke softly. "This was all a test."

"Yes," spoke a voice, from everywhere and nowhere. "And you all passed, congratulations!" Kurenai made the same entrance as before, then released the genjutsu on them.

"A test? What? You mean all this was for nothing?"

"Not at all, Kiba." Kurenai walked up to him and smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder. "of the Thirty-six students who passed the genin exam, only nine would be allowed to continue on as ninja. Against all odds, you passed. I'm very impressed with you." Kurenai closed her eyes and smiled.

"Lemme get this straight: you send us on a suicide mission, try to kill us, and when we all survive you call it a test? I'm not buying that lady."

Smiling, Kurenai spoke again. "I thought you wouldn't. This test was not about your jutsu skills or fighting techniques. What I wanted to see here was your perception skills. A ninja must see through deception, and this test makes sure that our Genin can do that. While I admit, Kiba, you couldn't tell that this was genjutsu through it all, you thought everything through well, and I was very impressed with your skills; Impressed enoguh to pass you, anyway. I look forward to seeing what we can do, as a team. You're all dismissed!"

"Yeah, alright, Akamaru! I don't think I really get what's going on here, but whatever it is, it's good! Yeah!"

_... He is on my team? I am doomed..._ Shino stood and left, and Hinata went the other way while Kiba stayed to rest a while.

Well, chapter six is done, as is the genin exam! R&R!


End file.
